PARIS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande sought Thursday to stake out a forceful position on international affairs, even as his failures on the domestic stage continue to mount.

Hollande, the most unpopular president in French history according to polls, began his twice-yearly question-and-answer session with hundreds of reporters in the Elysee Palace’s gilded grand hall by announcing the country would soon begin airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq.